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Thursday, July 7, 2016

7 July - Blogs I'm Following - pm

Why do I keep posting here when the same new content is at the other blog ? There are 5x as many followers listed, even though stats there for pageviews are higher. Go figure. And of course, the legacy files here are more complete although the other blog has even older content in some cases.

The newest takeaway from the #ComeyHearing... pic.twitter.com/eaUh7J6otp — Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) July 7, 2016 Takeaways from the #ComeyHearing: Private email servers are set up accidentally & old women can't understand how email works. — Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) July 7, 2016 Consider this an open thread. Mrs. JP and I will be in and out all day since today's her birthday and yesterday was #2 son's own birthday. See y'all tomorrow.

*And he meant it* Yesterday the House passed H.R. 1270, which the Republicans had cutely called the Restoring Access to Medication Act 243-164. Although unheralded, it was the 64th GOP attempt to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act. Every single Republican voted YES-- even the ones who try to pass themselves off as vaguely mainstream-- and 164 Democrats voted NO. Obama said he would veto it if it got through the Senate, which isn't likely. It's really another GOP tax cut for the wealthy, which forces working families to pay more and would result, according to the Joint Commi...more »

Last night, I tried to listen to a Donald Trump speech. I really did. There was no mention of what the national issues are. It was about how he loved his children, how he gets (unnamed) things done. And the audience was wild with applause. Obviously, this was an audience which didn't know what the issues were, either. That's because they all get news from news media just like the irving press. Clinton was no better. There is rising poverty in the U.S., rising homelessness. There is a public education system in a death spiral. There's a gun mentality which kills far more Americans t...more »

Yaneth Urquia Urquia, 49 years old Unknown Assailants Abduct, Murder Activist in Honduras The activist, part of the group founded by Berta Caceres, was found dead near a garbage dump. By TeleSur Another Indigenous activist has been murdered in Honduras, with local activists reporting Wednesday night that a woman identified as Yaneth Urquia Urquia was found dead near a garbage dump

DANCING IN THE DARK Posted on July 7, 2016 Please post & distribute. MNN. July, 7, 2016. Corporate band and tribal council systems are set up by Canada and US to bypass our inherent traditional peoples. These councils have to implement the theft regulated by the state, province and federal governments that created them. In rotino’shonni they deal with those councils that follow

Protest of Operation Streamline in Tucson. The transportation contract for detained migrants was issued to G4S (formerly Wackenhut) adding another layer to the profiteering from the incarceration of migrants. Operation Streamline fast tracks migrants to prisons for profit Operation Streamline is just one part of the U.S. covert operations targeting migrants on the border,

*Got to clear my bookmarks back log !!! - As if that could ever really happen- hehehe..Here’s some tidbits I’ve had saved:* *I've updated the post to cover news about a reported suicide bombing targeting Syrian soldier in Aleppo- Scroll down* *The Islamic State just made a potentially disastrous mistake- *That just happens to work in favour of the NATO- US/Israel agenda *In the global revulsion at the past week’s terror attacks in four Muslim countries, The United States and its allies have a new opportunity to build a unified command against the Islamic State and other extremists....more »

In the early 2000s one of the complaints I recall about Wizards of the Coast's d20-based *Star Wars RPG *was it was simply "D&D in space" vs. the previous *Star Wars RPG *as put out by West End Games. While I had a number of fun Star Wars games using the d20 versions, I have to confess to a bit of a preferences for the West End Games versions. Though in a sense, you could have called that game "Ghostbusters in space". Alas, my copies of Ghostbusters suffered in the regrettable basement flood several years ago triggered by the kiddies forgetting to turn off the bathroom sink. Oop...more »

The live-streamed video of the aftermath of yet another police shooting is disturbing on so many levels. It also displays a remarkable act of human courage under literal fire. Recordings of deaths-by-cop by concerned bystanders are becoming ubiquitous. Memorialization of state-sanctioned violence against mainly black and brown people is a valuable public service, prodding our moribund "justice" agencies, politicians and news organizations to start counting the dead and demanding accountability. But Wednesday's live Facebook stream of a motorist dying in Minnesota after being shot i...more »

Bernie Sanders is dancing around. His ‘revolution’ does not have an organizing committee that is accountable to the public… his voters. He’s trying to cut deals inside the White House and halls of Congress. What are the deals? Who gets to decide during negotiations? How does a report back to the public happen? Does Bernie get to make all those decisions? Should not happen that way. This is a teaching moment here. We are on the edge of the cliff now as the corporate oligarchies push for the final solution to any opposition to their ‘full spectrum dominance’. Russia and Chi...more »

By Jonathan Power NATO has just announced a plan to send troops to the alliance’s eastern flank, close to the Russian border. NATO says it is attempting to deter potential Russian aggression. The UK, the US, Canada and Germany will lead four battle groups to be based in Poland and the Baltic states. Diplomats say the troops will be a deterrent to Russian aggression by acting as a “tripwire” that would trigger a full response from the alliance if necessary. On June 12 the foreign minister of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, condemned Western “sabre-rattling and war cries”. He sa...more »

Here is my letter: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hl8chlwj0x0dt5e/PAG%20Letter%20on%20Move%20to%20Increase%20Radioactivity%20in%20Drinking%20Water%20July%204%2C%202016.pdf?dl=1 You can submit your own comment here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/10/2016-13786/notice-of-availability-draft-protective-action-guide-pag-for-drinking-water-after-a-radiological Citizen activism is required now to keep our government agencies from allowing polluters to destroy our health, well-being, and future.

Intelligence reports from the Chilcot inquiry appear to show that ISIS/ISIL was formed during the Iraq war of 2003 as the country and its institutions were dismantled and disenfranchised Iraqis where led to sectarianism. A view that is apparently backed by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. RT reports: The reports from the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which were previously classified, tell the story of the security services’ increasing concern that the war and occupation was fuelling ever more extremism in Iraq. The evidence also appears to debunk repeated claims by fo...more »

*Military Times*: *New VA study finds 20 veterans commit suicide each day* Roughly 20 veterans a day commit suicide nationwide, according to new data from the Department of Veterans Affairs — a figure that dispels the often quoted, but problematic, “22 a day” estimate yet solidifies the disturbing mental health crisis the number implied. In 2014, the latest year available, more than 7,400 veterans took their own lives, accounting for 18 percent of all suicides in America. Veterans make up less than 9 percent of the U.S. population. About 70 percent of veterans who took their own l...more »

Every day, more and more members are coming out on the line! At least 250 people were at Thursday's morning rally and lunch-time barbecue with CUPE Ontario. Spirits were very high, and we were NOISY! We were joined by members of many other unions: - Ryan & Evan, CUPE 3902, University of Toronto - Sandra & Tracey, CUPE 5167, City of Hamilton - Sonia from CUPE 4914, Peel CAS - Mary, CUPE 3904, Ryerson University - Bhupinder & Inderdep, United Workers Canada - Sandeep, NDP Brampton - Fair Wages Brampton - Jim McDowell, Peel Regional Labour Council Our afternoon visit from National Treasur...more »

[image: 13600043_634862213329347_5394488353236942087_n] Good news for ‘the workers’ party’ as they celebrate the 100th birthday of the party’s founding: “This shows that [those who vote for parties other than Labour] are more likely to be from all of the part-time employed, the full-time employed and the self employed. So Labour does not appear to be the favoured party for the majority of workers.” *Party of Labour?* – YOUR NZ “​It was a statement worthy of Stalin himself. It is a statement that should be unthinkable from any government in New Zealand, let alone a National one,...more »

*“The Scattered Leaves of All the Universe”* by Chet Raymo "Dante Alighieri, the inestimable Florentine poet, carried in his head and gave expression in verse to pretty much the entire universe known to his 13th-century European contemporaries. From the dregs of the Earth to the highest heaven he journeyed in his imagination. His was a universe made expressly for humans, and nothing was in it that was not part of the human drama of sin and salvation. When at last he has ascended through the Great Chain of Being, he looks upon the Godhead itself. "And within its depths, I saw ingath...more »

* "Curative Attentiveness: Being Aware of Your Thoughts"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOm "We seldom accept negative comments from others, however, we so often accept our own inner negative chatter. Few people enjoy the company of individuals whose attitudes are persistently negative. Yet many of us tolerate the critical chatter that can originate within our own minds. Since we are so used to the stream of self-limiting, critical consciousness that winds its way through our thoughts, we are often unaware of the impact these musings have on our lives. It is only when we become aware o...more »

*“The Geranium”* “When I put her out, once, by the garbage pail, She looked so limp and bedraggled, So foolish and trusting, like a sick poodle, Or a wizened aster in late September, I brought her back in again For a new routine- Vitamins, water, and whatever Sustenance seemed sensible At the time: she’d lived So long on gin, bobbie pins, half-smoked cigars, dead beer, Her shriveled petals falling On the faded carpet, the stale Steak grease stuck to her fuzzy leaves. (Dried-out, she creaked like a tulip.) The things she endured! The dumb dames shrieking half the night Or the two of us, al...more »

"I know the world seems terrifying right now and the future seems bleak. Just remember human beings have always managed to find the greatest strength within themselves during the darkest hours. When faced with the worst horrors the world has to offer, a person either cracks and succumbs to ugliness, or they salvage the inner core of who they are and fight to right wrongs. Never Let hatred, fear, and ignorance get the best of you. Keep bettering yourself so you can make the world around you better, for nothing can improve without the brightest, bravest, kindest, and most imaginative...more »

This is another of those posts that chases footnotes and though it begins with Richard Dolan, he is merely the starting point and this isn’t a criticism of his scholarship… well, maybe a little bit but you’ll understand as we get deeper into this. As an aside, and one that is not directed at Dolan here, I wonder how it is that some lies seem to mean nothing in our world of the UFO and simple mistakes are presented as false claims, and yes, this should become clear later as well. Richard Dolan. Photo copyright by Kevin Randle. Dolan provides a brief summary of the Roswell case in his ...more »

*The Hill:* *FBI didn’t record Clinton interview, did not administer sworn oath* Hillary Clinton did not swear an oath to tell the truth before meeting with the FBI for three and a half hours last weekend, and the interview was not recorded, FBI Director James Comey told House lawmakers on Thursday. The lack of a sworn oath does not remove the possibility of criminal penalties against Clinton if she lied to the FBI, though he said he had “no basis to conclude” that she was untruthful. “Still a crime to lie to us,” Comey told the House Oversight Committee. FBI policy is not to re...more »

*One of these war criminals-in-chief is the Brits' problem; the other's ours.* *"[A]s I’m sure you’ve noticed, the people who fear actual left-wingers or people of principle the most aren’t Tories, they are Blairites."* *-- Ian Welsh, in* "Blair et al. Committed War Crimes" *by Ken* Of course we shouldn't be talking just about *British* pols. A more urgent question for those of us on this side of the pond is how many *American* pols "get it"? The Chilcot Report, I gather, deals only with possible *British* war crimes in the grand Iraq adventure. (See Nick Hopkins's *Guardian* repo...more »

[image: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking with supporters Sunday, January 24, 2016, at a rally in West Des Moines, Iowa.] FBI Director James Comey was summoned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to explain why orange will not be Hillary Clinton’s new black. House Republicans grilled the FBI director for hours over his recommendation not to press charges against Bill Clinton’s...more »

[image: Venezuelan Currency - 900] Millennials are among the most avid supporters of the socialism promoted by Bernie Sanders. What is most remarkable is that there is ample evidence that socialist regimes bring untold economic harm to the very citizens who initially support them. My...more »

[image: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves as he leaves RNC headquarters after a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and House Republicans July 7, 2016 in Washington, DC. Later in the day Trump is scheduled to meet with Senate Republicans. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)] Capping off a whirlwind day on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump sat down with primary rival Ted Cruz for their first face-to-face since the end of the fierce and bitter primary campaign. If the two didn’t bury the hatchet, they at...more »

[image: Hillary Clinton4 - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department is reopening an internal investigation of possible mishandling of classified information by Hillary Clinton and top aides, officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. Although the former secretary of state’s closest confidants have left...more »

London pays almost a third of UK tax, exposing economic divide A study by the thinktank the Centre for Cities found that London generated almost as much tax as the next 37 largest cities combined and increased its share of “economy taxes” underpinning the Treasury’s finances to 30%, up five percentage points since 2004/5. Economy taxes are tied to economic growth, the report said, and include

Seven years in the making and the Chilcot Report confirms virtually everything said by the anti-war movement in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. The conclusion was pre-determined, the intelligence was full of holes, the British military were ill-equipped for an adventure in the desert, it was known beforehand that chaos and terror would be the invasion's children, and last of all it was pointless and unnecessary. As we know, our soon-to-be-ex-Prime Minister acquired a gambling habit that will cost us all dear. But in a way, Dave's deliberate positioning as the heir to Blair, p...more »

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) speaks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv on Nov. 29. Photo by president.gov.ua *CBC:* *Canada set to sign trade deal, defence co-operation agreement with Ukraine* *Ukraine is seeking clearance to buy weapons from Canada and the U.S..* Canada is on the cusp of finalizing a defence co-operation agreement with Ukraine, and the country's ambassador tells CBC News he's hopeful the Trudeau government will soon allow Canadian companies to export weapons to the embattled nation. Deepening ties and showing solidarity with the war-wea...more »

*Suman Bhattacharyya, The Fiscal Times*: *The US Now Has More Oil Reserves Than Saudi Arabia or Russia* The shale boom has catapulted the U.S. energy industry to new heights: A new estimate shows that America is now the world’s No. 1 in oil reserves. The independent estimate by Rystad Energy shows that the U.S. holds 264 billion barrels of recoverable oil from existing fields, discoveries and yet undiscovered fields. This beats out second-place Russia (256 billion barrels), Saudi Arabia (212 billion barrels) and Iran (143 billion barrels), according to the Norway-based oil and gas...more »

*Reuters:* *Syrian army fire cuts only road into rebel-held Aleppo* Syrian government forces took a step toward completely encircling rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Thursday, capturing ground overlooking the only road into the opposition half of the city and effectively putting those areas under siege. The army's advance toward the Castello Road, which brought it to within its firing range, came during a 72-hour ceasefire announced by the Syrian army on Wednesday, which a monitoring group said had been a ruse. Rebels said they were fighting to retake lost positions and re-secure th...more »

[image: It Took 19 Tortured Interpretations of the Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook] FBI Director James Comey announced on Tuesday that he won’t recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton, despite detailing her wrongful behavior in a lengthy speech. He didn’t believe any of her actions rose to the level of crimes, he said -- a claim he...more »

*Lots of tourism sites in the hills of Miaoli* Last night a local train was bombed at Songshan Station in Taipei. Various injury reports are circulating in the media, but it seems at least 24 were injured. No deaths, luckily. I'll be updating this as more news comes in... seems to be a fireworks package, no dedicated explosives such as plastic explosives, military weapons, or homemade fertilizer bombs, etc. Still looking for more details... Imagery and video of bombing from SETV My friend Paul Batt posted this image of early morning Taichung. _____________________ I'll be updating...more »

[image: Iran weapons - 900] Just one year after last year's nuclear deal with Iran, German intelligence officials have published a report which says the rogue nation continues to seek illicit nuclear technology. The claim originated from an annual report by Germany's Federal Office for the...more »

[image: Pouring Water Bottle - 900] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials aren't consistently auditing states' use of Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF), so it's unclear how much of the $100 billion in tax dollars spent on the program was wasted. A new EPA Office of Inspector...more »

[image: Wire Cutters - 900] The US had a perfect opportunity to absolutely demolish Iran's infrastructure with a cyber operation called Nitro Zeus. The top-secret initiative was first revealed in the film Zero Days, which premiers Friday and is centered around investigations of the world's first cyber weapon...more »

*Video Title: 2011 ΦBK Video Series: "Handwriting after Gutenberg: John Milton to Steve Jobs," from Edward Tenner. Source: Phi Beta Kappa. Date Published: September 28, 2011. Description: * Edward Tenner is a historian of technology and culture. An independent writer and speaker on the unintended consequences of innovation, Tenner holds a Ph.D. in European history from the University of Chicago and was executive editor for physical science and history at Princeton University Press. Tenner is a former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows and was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim ...more »

The world’s most expensive bunch of sweet red grapes of the Ruby Roman variety was sold to a customer in Japan‘s Ishikawa prefecture for £8,350. Daily Mail reports: Seasonal fruit offerings in Japan routinely attract massive sums from buyers seeking social prestige, or from shop owners wanting to attract customers. Shopkeeper Takamaru Konishi happily splashed out 1.1million yen for the bunch of 30 Ruby Romans, which works out as the equivalent of £280 per grape. Each Ruby Roman grape is the size of a ping-pong ball and they are extremely sweet. A delighted Mr Konishi said: ‘These a...more »

[image: Police Shooting-Minne_perr__1467897217_71.164.139.145] This week, three police shootings of black citizens in Baton Rouge, Brooklyn and Minnesota have sparked protest both locally and nationally. Here are some key facts about each. Brooklyn On Monday, according to surveillance cited by "sources," Delrawn Small attacked off-duty...more »

Donald Trump has changed his mind again about the controversial Star of David Tweet that got him in hot water with accusations of anti-Semitism. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee recently posted a tweet depicting Hillary Clinton in a negative way, with hundred dollar bills, a six pointed Star of David and the words “Most corrupt candidate ever!” written inside the star. During the time of Hitler’s Germany the Nazis used the Star of David in a negative way also. They forced Jews to wear the star at all times and projected it in their media to label them as corrupt, gree...more »

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko (L) walks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich *Reuters: **Kerry warns peace deal on Ukraine is in danger of failing* U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday that the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine was doomed to fail unless "real security" was restored in eastern Ukraine where government forces are pitted against Russian-backed separatists. The Minsk agreement was negotiated by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015 to end the fighting which bro...more »

*The Independent:* *North Korea says US sanctions on Kim Jong Un are 'declaration of war'* *Pyongyang's foreign ministry labelled the sanctions the 'worst hostile act'* North Korea has said US sanctions imposed on leader Kim Jong Un by the United States are a "declaration of war". The move by the US was described as “the worst hostile act” against the country in a statement issued by Pyongyang's foreign ministry carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The US Treasury Department imposed the sanctions on the North Korean leader and 10 other senior officials on Wednesda...more »

The Hill *Maritime Executive*:* U.S. Ports Want More Action on Dirty Bomb Prevention* The threat of terrorist smuggling at U.S. ports appears to be increasing, says the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), who wants mechanisms to prevent cyber terrorism and illegal nuclear materials from being trafficked through ports intensified. Nuclear smuggling can involve small quantities of highly enriched uranium or plutonium that could be used to build an improvised nuclear device. Additionally, radiological materials, such as cesium-137, cobalt-60, and strontium-90, can be co...more »

*NBC News*: *Navy SEAL Trainee's Drowning Death Ruled a 'Homicide'* A Navy SEAL trainee drowned after being repeatedly "dunked" underwater by an instructor, according to a San Diego medical examiner's report released Wednesday that labels the death a homicide. "Although the manner of death could be considered by some as an accident, especially given that the decedent was in a rigorous training program that was meant to simulate an 'adverse' environment, it is our opinion that the actions, and inactions, of the instructors and other individuals involved were excessive and directly ...more »

*Reuters*: *Footage shows U.S. diplomat, Russian guard grappling on embassy steps* Russian television on Thursday broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a U.S. diplomat wrestling on the steps of the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Reports of the incident had emerged late last month. The Washington Post newspaper, citing U.S. diplomats, said an embassy employee had been attacked on June 6 by the police officer. Russian officials said the diplomat had attacked the policeman. The night-time footage, from what appeared to be a closed circuit television came...more »

Undated photo of Russian spy ship Pribaltika (SSV-80). Sources confirmed the ship is operating off the coast of Hawaii. *USNI News: **Russian Spy Ship Now Off Hawaii, U.S. Navy Protecting ‘Critical Information’* Moscow has dispatched a specialized spy ship off the coast of Hawaii with the likely mission to monitor the U.S. Navy led Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercise, USNI News has learned. A Russian Navy Bal’zam-class, “auxiliary general intelligence ship recently arrived in international waters off Hawaii where exercise Rim of the Pacific is taking place,” U.S. Pacific Fleet spokes...more »

*CNN:* *U.S. jets diverted to Iraq, abandoning Syrian rebels* (CNN)U.S. support jets assisting Syrian rebels diverted to Iraq to strike suspected ISIS militants last week, according to a senior U.S. official, leaving the rebels without badly needed air cover. "The timing was not ideal," the official said. One aircraft flying air support missions over Al-Bukamal during the recent fighting there was called off and diverted to strike at a massive convoy of suspected ISIS militants that had been observed to be trying to leave the southern outskirts of Fallujah, according to the senior...more »

*VOA:* *FBI Chief Defends Decision to Clear Clinton in National Security Email Case* WASHINGTON — The chief of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is defending his decision to not pursue a criminal case against Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified national security information while she was secretary of state, even though he said investigators found "great carelessness" in her use of private, unsecured email servers. FBI Director James Comey told a House of Representatives panel Thursday that after a year-long probe, investigators decided there was no evidence that...more »

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Reuters/RIA Novosti) *Reuters*:* Putin and Obama speak on phone, say ready to increase Syria coordination - Kremlin* Russia said on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed in a phone call that both countries were ready to increase coordination of military action in Syria. Relations between Russia and the United States have been strained by disagreements over the conflict in Syria, where Moscow and Washington are backing opposing sides in the civil war. The Kremlin said in a...more »

[image: Sen. Menendez - 900] NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- United Airlines received tentative approval to offer nonstop flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Havana, Cuba, on Thursday, but the decision isn’t sitting well with everyone as a woman convicted in the murder of a...more »

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secret...more »

*“Hillary Beats the Rap!”* by Michael Covel "The Clintons are back, baby! After the FBI let Hillary off the hook yesterday for illegally keeping classified material on her personal servers, Arkansas’ first family of con artists are strutting around like O.J. after beating his murder rap. They’re untouchable now… and they know it. They’ve beaten impeachment, the Vince Foster mess, Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, Pardongate, the Asian fundraising scandal, the cattle futures scandal, Bubba flying around on the “Lolita Express,” Benghazi… and now the State Department email scandal. ...more »

*Bernie helps make Hillary more electable* Who's old enough to remember when all the crusader-rabbit liberals backing Hillary-- like this asshole-- were screaming month after month that free tuition college for in-state public institutions was impossible and insane and irresponsible to even discuss-- and nothing anyone wishing to be seen as "serious" would ever countenance? Like Vitginia Slims, we've come a long way, baby. Yesterday the I'm With Her campaign announced plans "to eliminate college tuition at in-state public colleges and universities for families with annual incomes u...more »

[image: Prison fence] An inmate, publicly known as John Doe, alleges that police and prosecutors offered him favors in exchange for his testimony and instructed him to lie about those offers. CNN reported that Doe helped secure a conviction in the United States'...more »

[image: In this May 16, 2016 file photo, a long line of travelers waiting for the TSA security check point at O'Hare International airport in Chicago. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has ousted its head of security operations and put new leadership in charge of screening operations at a major international airport, but long checkpoint lines and travel headaches already pervading the busy summer travel season are likely to continue.] Misconduct by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees has become so pervasive it compromises airport security, according ...more »

[image: Tesla X - 900] A Detroit man informed police his 2016 Tesla Model X was in autopilot mode when it crash and rolled over on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last Friday. Albert Scaglione, 77, a Detroit art gallery owner, was traveling with his son-in-law, Tim...more »

*I hope Trump has a transcript of this.* Comey made the statement that the two most important things in his life was his reputation and his family. One of those two things is already gone, and he's trying to protect the other.

'During testimony before Congress on Thursday, FBI Director James Comey stated that the FBI's interview with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not under oath or recorded, but it still would be a crime to lie to the FBI.' Seriously?! More here http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/07/07/comey-hillarys-fbi-testimony-wasnt-under-oath-or-recorded-but-it-would-still-be-a-crime-to-lie/ but not on the pro Hillary Clinton at any price BBC.

By Paul Homewood h/t Dave Ward http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/tech/norfolk_now_has_one_million_solar_panels_enough_to_power_one_fifth_of_all_our_homes_1_4581786 Do you sometimes get the impression that renewable energy gets a free ride from most of our media these days? The EDP is certainly no exception; take a look at their latest puff: Norfolk is home to over one million solar panels, with […]

[image: coal miner] New internet networking and improved computer hardware called “the internet of things” may have created an enormous market for coal power, according to a study published Thursday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study states that relatively simple networking upgrades could increase...more »

Following the FBI letting Hillary Clinton off the hook for her illegal use of a private email server, 93% of Americans have indicated that they would like to see her prosecuted. A poll has been released that reveals the vast majority of the American population, Democrat and Republican alike, want the former Secretary of State to be prosecuted for using her unsecured private email server to transmit classified material. Thomasdishaw.com reports: According to this ABC report: Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has been under scrutiny for almost a year after it came to lig...more »

Ms Andrea Leadsom and Ms Theresa May are the only people left on the shortlist of David Cameron's successors. In other words, for the first time since the era of Margaret Thatcher, the British government will be led by a lady. Let me admit that I would have a (moderate) problem to distinguish these two women physically; and it seems even harder to distinguish their political views. Both of them sound utterly reasonable and prepared for the job. It may actually be a good idea to start with new faces that aren't too connected with the Brexit battles that ended two weeks ago. ...more »

Iraq’s oil exports declined for a second month in a row in June 2016. Ironically, prices continued to rise leading to an increase in revenue. Unfortunately the country was still not able to earn enough to meet its minimum budget requirements. In June Iraq exported an average of 3.175 million barrels a day. That was down from May’s 3.2 million, and April’s 3.363, and was the lowest amount of the year. The Oil Ministry said the decrease was due to more production being diverted to generators to produce electricity during the summer heat. Despite the drop in sales, Iraq was able to...more »

Tomorrow, the NATO summit in Warsaw starts. What do we expect, other than jet-lagged Steve being more incoherent than usual? Lots of decisions to be announced, none to be made. These summits are akin to academic conferences–events that force folks to do the work. So, all of the work to come to agreements, make commitments, […]

An umbrella group for fake clinics in Canada is Canadian (formerly Christian) Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS). It used to have its "core documents" online but pulled them sometime recently. Nonetheless, we at DJ! have obtained copies. Here is its "Code of Counselling Ethics." Note numbers 6 and 12. They seem to conflict a bit, don't they? But number 12 is pretty straightforward. "12. I will preserve the client's right to confidentially, and will not release any identifying information verbally or in writing without the client's signed permission (excepting the th...more »

[image: Hillary Clinton7 - 900] The special operator community is "really p***** off" that the Federal Bureau of Investigation found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in Hillary Clinton's handling of top secret information. According to Jamie Williamson, who heads OPSEC, a group of former special...more »

[image: A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq early in the morning of Sept. 23, 2014, after conducting airstrikes in Syria. These aircraft were part of a large coalition strike package that was the first to strike ISIS targets in Syria.] U.S. warplanes abandoned a U.S.-backed Syrian rebel group, the New Syrian Army, in the middle of its offensive on an Islamic State town June 28, The Washington Post reports. Col. Chris Garver, a Pentagon spokesman, defended the decision to The Washington Post, saying, "You have...more »

Vladimir Putin has issued a stern warning to the world’s media, saying that the world is heading down a path that could lead to nuclear war. Speaking with foreign journalists at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 17th, Putin outlined why he thinks a war between Russia and the West is inevitable. Russia-insider.com reports: Putin railed against the journalists for their “tall tales” in blindly repeating lies and misinformation provided to them by the United States on its anti-ballistic missile systems being constructed in Eastern Europe. He pointed out that since ...more »

Scientists have conducted the world’s first successful time travel experiment, proving once and for all that time travel is possible. Physicists at the University of Queensland, Australia, have shown that single particles of light (photons) can pass through a wormhole and interact with its older self. Ewao.com reports: The study of closed timelike curves (CTC’s) provides valuable insight into particles that can loop back on themselves, breaking free of linear time. “One aspect of general relativity that has long intrigued physicists is the relative ease with which one can find solut...more »

A CIA insider has revealed that Police departments across the US are encouraged to seek out prospective applicants who display signs of being a psychopath. Former CIA contractor Steven Kelley says that the US now has a policy to not hire potential police officers if they show signs of empathy or logic. Filmingcops.com reports: “There is a policy here in the United States that people of a relatively high IQ are not allowed to become police officers,” said former CIA contractor Steven Kelley in an interview with Press TV. Evidently if an applicant shows signs of relatively high IQ — ...more »

The Chilcot inquiry has revealed that senior MI6 agents copied the plot of Hollywood blockbuster ‘The Rock’ when suggesting that Saddam Hussein had WMD capabilities. Flawed and often fabricated “intelligence” led to Britain going to war with Iraq, while intelligence chiefs failed to stand up to Tony Blair as he took the country to war. Dailymail.co.uk reports: The long-awaited report said that in September 2002, six months before the invasion, the intelligence agency believed it was on the edge of a ‘significant breakthrough’. A new source in Iraq was thought to have ‘phenomenal ac...more »

Tony Blair faces legal action from family members of dead soldiers who served in the Iraq war, following publication of the 2.6 million word Chilcot report on Wednesday. Families of the 179 personnel killed now have a legal basis in which to pursue a prosecution of the former Prime Minister, and have branded Tony Blair a “terrorist” and “war criminal”. Heraldscotland.com reports: Matthew Jury, the lawyer for the families of the fallen, raised the prospect of legal action, saying how a “full and forensic review” of the 2.6 million word report’s content and conclusions would now be u...more »

Parliament was put on lockdown on Thursday afternoon following reports of a potential ‘chemical incident’ involving a ‘mysterious white powder’. Authorities shut down parts of the Westminster parliamentary estate in order to discover the source of the white powder that they say had been found in an envelope addressed to a Peer at the House of Lords. Rt.com reports: A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police says: “A suspicious package has been delivered to the Houses of Parliament. “Officers are at the scene examining the contents of the package.” Parliament in lockdown. Letter to ...more »

*and teaching their children to act like little hooligans.* Tolerant liberals threw water bottles, water balloons, candy and other debris at the pick-up truck, which was occupied by Trump supporters waving and holding signs. Parents jeered while encouraging their children to take part in the ambush, with one eyewitness describing the incident as a “full on attack”. “That’s awesome, they super-soaked them with water balloons,” one bystander is heard saying. source After watching this disgusting display, I'll have to say that the thin veneer of civilization has sunk so low as to be a...more »

PLOS ONE has retracted a malaria paper after an institutional investigation found evidence the authors had manipulated multiple figures. According to the notice, the authors’ institution — the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi, India — recommended the journal retract the paper. Here’s the retraction notice, issued by PLOS ONE […] The post PLOS ONE pulls malaria study for “inappropriate manipulation” of figures appeared first on Retraction Watch.

A senior military aide to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, has warned that America will collapse within the next 25-years. General Nasser Arasteh told the Iranian press that “the US has reached a point today that it will witness fragmentation and disintegration 25 years later.” Timesofisrael.com reports: The remark recalled comments by Khamenei himself, who predicted last year that Israel would not survive the next 25 years. “You will not see next 25 years,” a tweet by Khamenei’s official Twitter account said in September, adding that the Jewish state would be hounded unti...more »

[image: Tom Gilson Featured - 900] Stream senior editor and ministry coordinator Tom Gilson’s Thinking Christian blog has made Feedspot's top 10 on its 2016 list of Top 100 Christian Blogs. Gilson has been blogging on Thinking Christian since October 31, 2004 from a website he says he put together out of his passion for Christ and a...more »

(Laris Karklis/The Washington Post) *TASS: **Seven militants, one FSB officer killed in Russia's Dagestan — antiterrorism committee* Another three Federal Security Service officers were wounded MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Seven militants have been killed in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, and the special operation is continuing, the information center of Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) reported Thursday. "A great amount of weapons and ammunition have been discovered at the site of the clash, including two grenade launchers, a homemade bomb and a few g...more »

FILE: Marine reservist Jason Brezler, left, is pictured with Afghan police chief and alleged child abuser Sarwar Jan, whom Brezler warned his fellow Marines about before one of Jan's alleged victim's fatally shot three Marines. (Courtesy of Brezler family) *U.S. News and World Report:* *Attorneys Intend to Ask for 'the Clinton Deal'* *Will other careless security-clearance holders get a pass? Time will tell.* Attorneys for people who allegedly mishandled classified information say the outcome of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton could be good news for their clients. Th...more »

*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Stratfor*: *A Look Inside Islamic State Oil Production* *Analysis* Oil production is a crucial source of income for the Islamic State. As of March, it accounted for nearly half of the group's total revenue, bringing in roughly $20 million each month. Beyond providing funds, oil refining is also a much-needed logistical boon: The Islamic State can only gain access to the refined fuel products that power vehicles and generators through smuggling or local production. Given the advantages oil production can bring, it is no surprise that the U.S.-led coal...more »

General David Petraeus. Reuters. *Nick Turse, War Is Boring*:* Leaker, Speaker, Soldier, Spy* *The charmed life of David Petraeus* I ran into David Petraeus the other night. Or rather, I ran after him. It’s been more than a year since I first tried to connect with the retired four-star U.S. Army general and ex-CIA director — and no luck yet. On a recent evening, as the sky was turning from a crisp ice blue into a host of Easter-egg hues, I missed him again. Led from a curtained “backstage” area where he had retreated after a midtown Manhattan event, Petraeus moved briskly to a sta...more »

AFP Photo/HO/ISIL / AFP *New York Times*: *What the Americans Drawn to ISIS Had in Common* The nearly 100 United States residents accused of trying to help the Islamic State share certain characteristics that may have made them more susceptible to radicalization, according to a report from the Center on National Security at Fordham Law. Many expressed some form of social alienation, loneliness or identity issues, according to evidence presented in legal documents and other public information analyzed by the center. “These individuals seemed to be looking to attach to something tha...more »

*Daily Mail*: *Bill O'Reilly shares photos of Barack Obama in traditional Muslim dress he claims are from half-brother Malik's wedding saying they prove his 'deep emotional ties to Islam' * * Bill O'Reilly released images of President Barack Obama claiming they were from the Muslim wedding of his half brother Malik * President Obama was Malik's best man at his first wedding in 1981 and Malik served as his best man when he married Michelle * O'Reilly claims the photos were taken in Maryland in the early 1990s * Fox News host said the pictures prove President Obama has 'deep emotiona...more »

[image: BreakPoint Religious Freedom Iowa - 900] In 2007, Iowa enacted a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The law applies to what are known as "public accommodations." Now federal law typically considers "public accommodations" to be facilities like restaurants, hotels,...more »

*James Comey, Hillary Clinton (source)* *by Gaius Publius* It's going to be a while before the jury of informed comment returns a verdict regarding James Comey's pre-emptive declaration of "no prosecution" for Hillary Clinton. But let's see what a first look gets us. I want to start with a couple of points made by Marcy Wheeler, then amplify them from other sources. The questions at issue are: - Should James Comey have made the call not to prosecute? - Should Clinton be prosecuted at all? - If she should be prosecuted, why? - If she should have been prosecuted, why was...more »

○ “The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of fa...more »

*“Banana Republic: One System of Justice for the Powerful (Like Clinton),* *and Another For Everyone Else”* by George Washington "FBI Director Comey’s announcement that he doesn’t think Hillary Clinton should be prosecuted for sharing government documents on her private, unsecured email server is very troubling... *The FBI Re-Wrote 6 Criminal Laws to Let Clinton Off the Hook: *Former FBI director Chris Swecker said Comey should have brought charges against Clinton: "He seemed to be building a case for that and he laid out what I thought were the elements under the gross negligence a...more »

“The Milky Way is massively bright on this cold, clear, altiplano night. At 4,500 meters its reflection in a river, a volcanic peak on the distant horizon, is captured in this stitched panorama under naturally dark skies of the northern Chilean highlands near San Pedro de Atacama. Along the Solar System's ecliptic plane, the band of Zodiacal light also stands out, extending above the Milky Way toward the upper left. *Click image for larger size.* In the scene from late April, brilliant Mars, Saturn, and Antares form a bright celestial triangle where ecliptic meets the center of the Mi...more »

"We Americans have a saying: "It's more important what you stand for than who you stand with." I do not rely upon peer opinion to decide what is right and what is wrong. I make those decisions for myself, and even if I discover that every other human alive chose differently, that doesn't mean I was wrong. There comes a time in every person's life when he or she has to choose sides. I have chosen my side. I am comfortable with my decision. I do not think everyone on my side is a saint, but I know that those on the other side are much, much worse. Sometimes a person with too broad a...more »

"The Mask of Sanity: Psychopaths Rule Our World" by Niall Bradley "It is evident, for those with eyes to see, that political discord between rival criminal cartels is purely for public consumption. Bread and circuses. Policy is not shaped by party politics. Decisions are made by a few: everyone else adjusts or starves. Weapons of financial mass destruction deployed by Central Bankers and Disaster-Capitalists, under the guise of protecting the markets and improving the efficiency of the system, vacuum the wealth of the nations - the work people produce - into ever fewer hands. Whil...more »

*"A Spiritual Journey"* "And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home." ~ Wendell Berry

* This is my article last week in BusinessWorld. Investments, local and foreign, are like pools of water flowing down. They go where they are allowed and welcomed, not where they are restricted and barred. So government and national policies set the tone and signal if they welcome, partially disallow, or explicitly restrict investments. Foreign investments are particularly very mobile and flexible. They can come and go in major cities in the world in very short period like within hours or minutes, such as investments in the stock markets and commodities. Foreign direct investments ...more »

*FBI Director James Comey is testifying* *LIVE before the Senate today* You really have to watch what`s going on very closely....and be very cynical...in order to correctly analyse the geopolitical trends. Last night I watched the `live stream`video of the Minnesota police shooting of a man stopped in his car for having a broken tail light. The man was then shot by a policeman while reaching for his driver`s license...after having told the policeman that he had a license to carry a concealed gun. It was all very shocking and the girlfriend captured it all on her cell phone and it...more »

*The Kurd land seizure of Christian lands.. So reminiscent of their besties in Israel* *And this is not taking place in territory governed solely by the KRG* *I’ve covered the Kurdish militia/elites theft/coveting of Christian land, historically and recently. In Iraq and Syria. Some Flashbacks and additional news before the main news item!* *Kurdish militias are not my idea of heroic fighters- They equal the Contras* - *PKK occupy 3 Assyrian Villages* - *With the intent to force the christians out no doubt*! - - *Kurds fully participate in Generational Assyrian/ Armenia...more »

An erstwhile cell biologist has retracted five papers published in the Journal of Cell Science (JCS), all of which had been flagged in a recent investigation by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI). The investigation found John Pastorino, previously a cell biologist at Rowan University in New Jersey, guilty of doctoring more than 40 […] The post Five more retractions for biologist with funding ban brings total to six appeared first on Retraction Watch.

A harrowing Facebook video showing a black man getting shot and killed by a cop while sitting in his car with his wife and kid has sparked outrage. Protesters have gathered outside the Governor’s mansion in Minnesota after footage emerged of a woman live-streaming her dying boyfriend’s last seconds after he was fatally shot by a cop during a traffic stop. FOX9 reports: Protesters marched from the scene of the shooting at Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street to the governor’s mansion in St. Paul. Many protestors have said they will not go home until Gov. Mark Dayton comes out to give a ...more »

[image: Marine Firefighters] U.S. Marines hone their skills in a simulated car-fire scenario at the Marine Ground Air Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California on June 23, 2016. Wow! Thanks to Cpl. Booker T. Thomas for taking this photo.

[image: Police Shooting-Minne_perr__1467897217_71.164.139.145] FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) -- A police officer fatally shot a man in a car, and a woman in the vehicle apparently livestreamed the aftermath in a widely shared Facebook video that shows her telling the camera that her boyfriend...more »

[image: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory speaks during a candidate forum in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, June 24, 2016.] RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to halt North Carolina’s law requiring people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates, citing the harassment of transgender people since the measure...more »

[image: Glascow Scotland Shops Street - 900] LONDON (AP) -- A man has admitted to killing a fellow Muslim in Scotland because he felt he had disrespected Islam. Shopkeeper Asad Shah was stabbed and beaten in March at his convenience store in Glasgow. Police said the slaying...more »

[image: gun - 900] A retired Air Force officer has launched a petition he says aims to protect the gun rights of U.S. citizens against two of America's most respected military leaders. Since June 25, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel David Bolgiano has garnered nearly...more »

A lawyer friend, Jijil Jimenez, made a good observation in his fb posting last Tuesday, July 5. He wrote, *Asking Congress to submit a list of projects to be later included in the proposed GAA by the President is, technically, not pork. It is beef - bigger, and as fatty. Its actually the older brother of pork practice where, unlike pork, the item of expenditure is decided before the budget becomes law. Its called budgetary insertions. It is, strictly speaking, not part of the power over the purse lodged in Congress because under this concept, only the President can propose items of ...more »

By Paul Homewood From the Met Office: The impacts of extreme weather and climate change on health and well-being is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. The Met Office in Exeter was the venue for the conference. For the first time the Met Office, supported by The World […]

*THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016Part 3—Kornacki extends a pattern:* Arguably, the smartest person on TV is on her summer vacation. Last summer, the smartest person spent her summer vacation taking a long train ride with her parents and her partner. On the train, her mother played hearts and kibitzed at length with John Doe of the little-known band, X, which appeared on American Bandstand all the way back in the 1980s. How do we know what the smartest person did on her summer vacation? We know because she wasted everyone's time in May telling us all about it. Over the years, the smartest p...more »

*Was a fake mascot watched by millions on the ice?* Kazma Kazmitch (born as Kamil Bartošek) is a 31-year-old Czech entertainer who currently produces his "One Man Show" at Stream.cz, an Internet TV owned by Seznam.cz, the formidable Czech (local) competitor of Google. He and his teammate – and their staff – have done similar things in the past (most famously, they squeezed a fake Jim Carrey into the Czech counterpart of the Oscars ceremony – world media responses) but this trick sort of makes David Copperfield look like a baby pacifier in comparison: How two Czechs criminally hack...more »

A paper on a filler for eye wrinkles did not disclose that it was funded by a pharmaceutical company that produces the cosmetic. The paper explicitly noted that the authors do not have any financial conflicts of interest, and that a government program supported the study. According to the journal, a reader alerted them to the […] The post Crow’s feet filler study omitted pharma funding, gets retracted appeared first on Retraction Watch.

*VICE News*: *Blackout: Inside Belarus, Europe's Last Dictatorship* *In BLACKOUT, a series made possible by Jigsaw, VICE News takes viewers across the globe, from Pakistan to Belarus, to examine technology's role in the ongoing fight for free expression. Watch the rest of the series here: http://bit.ly/1UNxdKP* In October of last year, Alexander Lukashenko swept to his fifth term as the Belarusian president, marking 22 years in power. Despite the elections being marred by allegations of fraud, the EU in February lifted travel sanctions against Lukashenko's government, as a reward ...more »

*Virginia Pilot: **Sailors’ lives, $50M jets rely on USS Truman’s 4 wires to prevent a disaster while landing* The margin of error aboard a floating airport is razor thin. The only thing stopping a $57 million fighter jet from disaster when it lands on the USS Harry S. Truman is a carefully choreographed routine, four steel cables – each about 1½ inches thick – and a team of about 50 sailors that makes sure the wires catch it. Planes approach an aircraft carrier at about 150 mph. That allows them to take off again if their tail hook doesn’t grab one of the four wires placed at 20...more »

*Nick Bilton, Vanity Fair*: *Are We At The Start Of A Tech World War?* *It’s a battle unlike any we’ve ever seen before.* During this past year, various theories have been posited to suggest that our current political mood might foretell a reckoning so dark that it could eventually spiral into a veritable international crisis—some terrifying World War III doomsday scenario. Some of these hypotheses have been undeniably hysterical, for sure. But others have been remarkably, even eerily, sober. And now, with a world on edge, they have gone mainstream. In the weeks preceding the Brex...more »

A QF-4 Drone in flight as it is tracked by a missile at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Courtesy of U.S. Air Force *David Axe, Reuters*: *Drones, fighter jets and the future U.S. Air Force* Right before the July 4 holiday, the U.S. government released its first official report on civilian casualties of America's long-running drone attacks on terror suspects in war zones across the globe. The report estimates fewer than 120 civilians have died in errant strikes since 2009 – far fewer than many independent experts and humanitarian organizations cite. "There is no doubt,” President B...more »

*From* *Jenna Orkin* Blair did NOT tell the cabinet that the attorney general initially advised the Iraq War would be illegal The US now has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia It was only ever about *easy* oil. Surprise: Refugees Are Making The Military Industrial Complex Even Richer Some Refugees Are Being Sold For Organs Banks Battered As Bond Yields 'Comey-kaze' Dive To Record Lows Stanley Kubrick’s Daughter Has A Message For Moon Landing Truthers A woman live-streamed the immediate aftermath of a deadly police shooting in Minnesota The US and 25 other nations are working toget...more »

5 July 2016 Michigan is a state of contrasts. Venturing from south to north, post-industrial gloom gives way to sweeping vistas of rolling hills and forests. Like most other areas in the eastern United States, Michigan’s forests were logged relentlessly, although isolated pockets of old growth are still found. At the Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling, a mosaic of old and new growth forests converges to create a haven for biodiversity. I set out early in the morning with the intention of seeing Kirtland’s warblers in their summer breeding range. The warbler, like many other...more »

4 July 2016 Today was mostly a travel day, moving from near Columbus, OH to Roscommon, MI. Unable to find a campground last night, I pulled exhausted into a Walmart parking lot late, where I noticed a number of other voyagers doing the same. That night I dreamed that I woke up in the morning and was served free muffins and coffee by Walmart staff. In my dream, I was thinking *This is very humanitarian of Walmart. Maybe I have misjudged them.* Alas, I had not. It was but a dream of a better world. Walmart doesn’t even pay the majority of their employees a living wage. They are certain...more »

[image: APTOPIX Police Shoot_perr__1467896163_71.164.139.145] BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- An emotional, at times angry, evening unfolded in the working class, predominantly black Louisiana neighborhood where the police killing of a black man was caught on videotape. Hundreds of mourners, friends and family members of...more »

[image: Bible Study] There is no way a professional athlete could be successful if she was convinced that her team was destined to lose. There is no way a soldier in the army could be successful if he was convinced the enemy was...more »

[image: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled 'The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy,' on Capitol Hill, March 1, 2016 in Washington, DC.] FBI Director James Comey has been called up to Capitol Hill to explain to angry and befuddled Republican lawmakers his decision not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her "extremely careless" handling of classified material. He's expected to...more »

It wasn't that many years ago that there were enough NRA Democrats in the House-- like John Barrow for example-- to help the Republicans pass all the most heinous gun legislation the NRA was looking for. But between a growing refusal of Democratic base voters to keep reelecting Blue Dogs and other conservative gun-loving congressmen and the slaughter of infants in Newtown, there's been a real change inside the House Democratic conference. Even before Newtown, the NRA's bite was failing to live up to its bark. In 2012 the NRA spent considerable money trying to defeat its enemies and...more »

A mystery man gave free money to members of the public in a Londonderry shopping centre on Tuesday. Ten and twenty pound notes rained down on shoppers at Foyleside Shopping Centre, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Derry Journal reports: It is understood the man threw a mixture of £10 and £20 notes from the first floor on to shoppers below. Some reports said the man gave one local family £500 and proceeded to hand £20 notes to shoppers as he walked through the centre. All of the money examined by the PSNI was found to be genuine. The identity of the man rem...more »

Most criminal cases are started when someone complains to the police and, following investigation, the police lay charges. The police will lay a charge when they conclude there are grounds to believe an offence has occurred, they believe they know who is responsible and there are no good reasons not to proceed. Sometimes the police decline to lay a charge even though it is possible a valid charge could be laid. This is not a bad thing – the police have a discretion and so long as the discretion is exercised impartially and fairly no problem arise. That said, anyone can go b...more »

*Liberal profs outnumber conservatives 28-to-1 in New England* A study of survey data collected over 25 years has confirmed that university faculty in New England are far more liberal than anywhere else in the nation, outnumbering conservatives 28-to-1, compared to a 6-to-1 ratio nationally. Samuel Abrams, a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, notes in an op-ed for The New York Times Sunday that while decades of survey data confirm liberal preponderance throughout the academy, one region in particular stands out for its particularly extreme imbalance: New England. “W...more »

[image: Russian Protestant Church - 900] "I will never let you down." That's what Donald Trump told Evangelical voters in a January campaign video just before the Iowa caucuses. Many of us already feel more than a bit let down, but Trump's rather cordial relationship with...more »

[image: CBP_pat_down__1467892181_71.164.139.145] SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Homeland Security officials must quickly release immigrant children -- but not their parents -- from family detention centers after being picked up crossing the border without documentation. The San...more »

[image: Hillary Clinton - 900] Fresh off her victory lap with President Obama, enjoying North Carolina BBQ while ignoring the details of the otherwise scathing FBI non-indictment, Hillary Clinton is making an earnest play for those pesky Bernie Sanders voters. A few key elements of...more »

When bigots and buffoons -- like Nigel Farage and Donald Trump -- oppose world trade deals, Linda McQuaig writes, they give the globalizers plenty of ammunition: Having such a collection of bigots and boors opposing “globalization” may turn out to be a boon for those promoting globalization — that is, the laws that govern the global economy. This is unfortunate, since these laws — and the international trade deals that enforce them — have delivered benefits almost exclusively to those at the top in recent years, and should be thoroughly overhauled. When you look at history and th...more »

*Cute bugs everywhere!* *For the first time the hand appeared to shake. "Good Spirit," he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: "Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!"* As we batten down for a typhoon here in central Taiwan, Ted Galen Carpenter, the Ghost from 2006, moans and rattles his chains once more in The National Interest: Rejecting the 1992 consensus was hardly Tsai’s only offense from Beijing’s standpoint. Allies of her administration have pushed Taiwan’s independent...more »

*Global temperature back into the normal range* *GISS have not yet updated for June but Roy Spencer has -- using the satellite data:* Second largest 2-month drop in global average satellite temperatures. Largest 2-month drop in tropical average satellite temperatures. NOTE: This is the fifteenth monthly update with our new Version 6.0 dataset. Differences versus the old Version 5.6 dataset are discussed here. Note we are now at “beta5” for Version 6, and the paper describing the methodology is still in peer review. The Version 6.0 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT...more »

[image: 7028375371_3c97027421_k__1467891249_71.164.139.145] Another Obamacare co-op, Connecticut's HealthyCT, is closing its doors, and at least two most could follow suit as the nonprofit insurers decide whether they will be able to remain on firm financial footing. The nine remaining co-ops of the original...more »

[image: GOP 2016 Trump_perr__1467888860_71.164.139.145] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump tried to assure skittish GOP lawmakers Thursday that they all share the same Republican Party goals, but his first appearance before the rank-and-file failed to soothe some deep concerns about his undisciplined campaign. Protesters chanted...more »

[image: Comey - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Summoned before Congress, FBI Director James Comey on Thursday strongly defended the decision to not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup. He said there was no evidence that she or any of her aides knew...more »

[image: veterans VA] WASHINGTON (AP) -- On average, 20 veterans a day committed suicide in 2014, a slight decrease from the previous government estimate, but federal health officials are cautious about concluding the suicide problem is getting better. Rather, they say the Department...more »

[image: Un_bouffeur_de_nems] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. imposed sanctions Wednesday on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and 10 other top officials for human rights abuses in an escalation of Washington’s effort to isolate the authoritarian government. Although North Korea is already...more »

[image: Pray for America Flag Woman Prayer - 900] "I've been wanting to ask you, who should I vote for this November?" the young man in the men's group wanted to know. "I can't tell you and I wouldn’t, but here is what I am doing," I said. "First...more »

[image: Hillary Laughing - 900] FBI Director James Comey has given Hillary Clinton something better than a get out of jail free card. He’s protected her from indictment by recommending to the Department of Justice that she not be prosecuted for her and her staff’s...more »

*Dear People who are predicting my demise by big pharma's hoodlums. To all the well wishers who think they are being helpful by writing to me telling me the danger I am in and to be careful. I know you probably have not thought it through because the fear took you first. But consider this please, and know that I am not mad at you and that I know you mean well, but . . . * *When people stop being fearful of every little thing that they hear then maybe we will get some real movement from the inside---from doctors and nurses and parents who are all trembling. You know, the ones who ...more »

[image: In this June 22, 2016 file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House won't vote on proposed Democratic gun curbs, Ryan suggested Tuesday, July 5, 2016, as the rekindled election-year clash over firearms showed no sign of resolution.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative opposition put a House Republican gun and anti-terrorism bill in jeopardy Wednesday, delivering an embarrassing slap to Speaker Paul Ryan and his effort to mount a legislative response to last month’s Orlando mass shooting. Even as...more »

[image: Pastor Cary Gordon stands in front of Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, Iowa.] An Iowa pastor, saying the government needs to stop "meddling in religious affairs," is at odds with the state over a law focused on sexual orientation and gender identity that he says hinders his First Amendment right to teach on...more »

The death of the Glaswegian shopkeeper Assad Shah was and is a tricky one for the BBC to report. He was a Muslim killed in a religiously motivated attack. The trouble for the BBC is that he wasn't killed by a BNP supporter, or a UKIP voter or a Brexit supporter, he was killed by another Muslim. So the BBC's choice of wording for this story on their home page is interesting. They name the victim Assad Shah and leave the reader to put the name with the picture and assume that he was a Muslim. They don't name the perpetrator of the attack in the link text, maybe because his name is T...more »

I can't find anything about the anniversary of 7/7 on the BBC news website Eleven years after these homegrown Islamist terrorist attacks on London, the BBC chooses to forget the Londoners that died or were injured, many very seriously. Those that died are listed here but also think about those that survived, some very badly injured. At the time around 700 people were injured; some 350 were treated on the scene, and 350 in hospital. 100 required overnight hospitalisation or longer and 22 were seriously or critically injured (I believe a few may still be hospitalised but cannot confi...more »

There seem to be many people speculating as to how the government or the House of Commons or the House of Lords could overrule the Brexit vote. To all the people speculating and especially those like David 'Mastermind' Lammy who are actually calling for such anti-democratic action I refer them to the government's own EU Referendum leaflet which has this on page 14: *'This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide.'* No ifs, no buts, no maybes...

*Al Jazeera*: *Zimbabwe shuts down in protest over 'economic collapse'* Zimbabweans carry out nationwide strike and protests in the capital against the economic conditions in the country. Police in Zimbabwe have fired tear gas and warning shots at demonstrators as a strike against the government's economic policies closed businesses and crippled public transport. Wednesday's strike, named "stay-away day", followed days of unrest over the government's failure to pay civil servants' salaries, a currency shortage, import restrictions and police road blocks that were allegedly extort...more »

Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade soldiers (R) walk with U.S. 82nd Airborne Division soldiers during the NATO allies' Anakonda 16 exercise near Torun, Poland, June 7, 2016. REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL *Peter Apps, Reuters*: *Risk of war returns to Europe* A century ago this weekend, my great-grandfather – a corporal in the Liverpool-recruited King’s Regiment – was waiting to go “over-the-top” at the Somme. Sent to pick up the company rum ration before the assault, he wound up drinking it and woke up after the action – or at least, that’s the story he told the family after World War One was ...more »

Greenpeace voodoo science was slam dunked last week by real scientists. GP do heavy political science then call it climate science, bio science. They should be ashamed of what they are doing. From the WaPo news last June 30, 2016: *The letter campaign was organized by Richard Roberts, chief scientific officer of New England Biolabs and, with Phillip Sharp, the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery of genetic sequences known as introns. The campaign has a website, supportprecisionagriculture.org, that includes a running list of the signatories...more »

The new DENR Secretary, a high profile anti-mining activist, has created a stir among industry players. Last July 03, JB Baylon posted in his wall the following: *THEY'RE STARTING TO SPEAK OUT:* *The UP MINERS* *The UP 49ers* *Mapua's Association of Geologist and Geological Engineering Majors* *The UP Gems* *The UP GeoSoc* *The USEP (Davao) mining engineering students...* *challenging those who insist that there is NO responsible mining in the Philippines, and that mining has nothing positive to contribute to our communities and society….* We shall wait for the other watermelon acti...more »

Humans have an inbuilt fear and distrust of sharks, much like the voting public’s instinctive response to Hillary Clinton. This primal fear of sharks and Clinton may be well founded, according to researchers, as sharks and Clinton combined have killed over 75 people on American soil and in American waters since 1990. However Clinton has the edge over sharks in the deadly predator stakes, with the presumptive Democratic nominee allegedly bumping off 46 adversaries while sharks have only accounted for 29 in that time. Everybody is talking about Hillary Clinton being above the law, afte...more »

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is so desperate for the Democratic nomination that she ordered for the shredding huge numbers of Bernie Sanders ballots during the California primaries. American Everyman reports: Back when I was covering the theft of the California primary by Hillary Clinton and her regiment of neoliberal DNC (New Dems) globalist sycophants, I said we should keep an eye out for those office document shredding trucks pulling up to the polling sites before all the provincial ballots have been counted. I can’t remember which article that was in, but I remember wri...more »

A top New York psychiatrist has admitted that most patients who suffer from mental illness are actually suffering from demonic possession. Richard Gallagher, a board-certified psychiatrist and professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College, says he has personally encountered demonic possession, and is convinced that possession is much more widespread than anybody is willing to admit. Washingtonpost.com reports: In the late 1980s, I was introduced to a self-styled Satanic high priestess. She called herself a witch and dressed the part, with flowing dark clothes and blac...more »

A Silicon Valley insider has gone on the record and admitted that the world’s elite are buying up huge amounts of land and building underground bunkers in order to hide away from the general public. According to former Facebook product manager Antonio Garcia Martínez, the wealthy elite have set-up private groups on the social media giant in order to discuss the “pressing needs of the super rich,” including where to buy private planes and “how to buy a bunch of land then put it in a trust so people don’t realize you’re amassing a compound and you can maintain your privacy.” Infowar...more »

Hillary Clinton was caught on hidden camera admitting that she used her email server illegally whilst serving as Secretary of State. The clip below from the ABC News program 20/20 sheds new and damning light on the Hillary Clinton email scandal. She is caught speaking about emails and “not wanting to use emails” due to wanting to keep from having them come up in investigations later. No wonder she wanted to hide her server. No wonder she deleted all her emails. She is a complete and utter fraud. From her own words, you can tell she knows exactly what she is doing. “As much as I’ve ...more »

Protestors are to storm the Democratic convention on July 25th in order to demand that the DNC drop their support for Hillary Clinton and instead nominate Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders has vowed that this years convention will see “big changes” made to the status quo, and has warned that officials in the party should not be too complacent amid growing unrest with voters. Shtfplan.com reports: Former Bernie Sanders supporters and those who oppose many of her positions are planning to surround what promises to be a lively convention, with planned sit-ins and what could easily become...more »

Congress is hauling FBI director James B. Comey in to explain why he decided to let Hillary Clinton off the hook and not press criminal charges for her illegal use of a private email server whilst serving as Secretary of State. On Thursday, Comey will appear before Congress to explain his bizarre decision not pursue an indictment against Hillary, and be probed on whether he or the FBI were pressured into arriving at their decision. Nytimes.com reports: The F.B.I. did not immediately confirm that Mr. Comey would comply, but the announcement by Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, ...more »

Drudge's poll yesterday asked the right-wing crackpots who still read that website who they preferred as a running mate for Herr Trumpf. But the Drudge polling department only listed 6 possibilities and not even an "other" or a "none of the above." And not Tom Brady (who says he's not coming to the convention) nor Trump's favorite (forcibly retired) general, Phil Breedlove nor even the guy who gave Trump his not very witty and somewhat shopworn Pocahontas retort to Elizabeth Warren's compelling critique of him, Scott Brown. So the Newtster came out on top and the only remotely san...more »

* This is my article last week, a day before the inauguration of President Duterte. His inauguration speech was good, no expletives, no PI, no "kill dozens/thousands", very Presidential. State-sponsored murders can be the hallmark of the incoming President Rodrigo Duterte administration. Criminal adjudication and the correctional system will take a backseat as suspected drug pushers/users, thieves and other criminals will simply be killed outright. Mr. Duterte announced last June 25 in Cebu that “This will be finished. Six years. You just think if I will kill 10 per day.” That is ...more »

[image: 1speech] Attorneys for two Iowa churches say they are not reassured by the head of the state's Civil Rights Commission (CRC) who stated that they won't be targeted for holding traditional views on marriage. On Tuesday, CRC Executive Director Kristin Johnson told...more »

Terminator star and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged members of the public to give up meat and take-up a plant-based diet “for the benefit of humanity”. In partnership with James Cameron, Arnie is spreading the message, “less meat, less heat, more life”. Trueactivist.com reports: Recently, Arnold Schwarzenegger partnered with the Wild Conservation Society to raise awareness about the issue of poaching. In that video, he made it clear that poachers will pay for their crimes against humanity as killing African Elephants for their tusks is likely to result ...more »

Photos by Buck Sampson, Northern Paiute Wednesday , July 6, 2016 Buck Sampson said the Peace and Dignity runners arrived in Tonopah, Nevada, at 2 pm today. Runners will begin again at 7 am, running south toward Beatty on Hwy 95. Buck said they are looking for more runners. Thank you to Buck Sampson and his son Bad Bear for sharing photos with Censored News all these years.

[image: Burger Flipper - 900] A former top federal economist warned in an opinion piece Wednesday government policies are often counterproductive to the jobs they're meant to save. Industries phase out employment opportunities naturally due to factors like robotics and automation. Lawmakers have proposed policies...more »

[image: Elementary Classroom, Teacher, Teaching, Students, Education] The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering $10 million to schools and non-profit organizations for programs that prevent young adults from joining terrorist groups. Through the grants, DHS hopes to create programs that "enhance the resilience of communities" to recruitment efforts and offer "alternative messages"...more »

[image: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives to speak on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., Wednesday, July 6, 2016.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are discussing a potential event next week in New Hampshire, during which the Vermont senator would endorse Clinton’s White House bid. A Democrat familiar with the plans said Wednesday if...more »

[image: American flag background and army dogtags with rainbow flag of pride. Concept of opening to the free expression of any sexual orientation.] Last week, the Department of Defense ended its recognition of service members' biology and supplanted it with a radical ideology pushed by the Obama administration. As other commentators pointed out recently (here and here), there is no military justification for...more »

Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions, spoke for 15 minutes and answered questions. Monsef acknowledges meeting taking place on traditional Algonquin territory, calls for collaboration, hopes committee will work towards more than just submitting five reports representing their respective party's views. Gives her personal perspective on why we should move beyond FPtP. FPtP is 19th century system not designed for multi-party system. We need stronger link between will of voters and election results. Since 1960 we've had 10 elections giving majority results but only in o...more »

[image: Neutra-Hailey-Residence-living-room] “So, what about our windows?” It’s usually a half-asked question at some early stage of a project, about the *colour* of windows generally – which are usually picked by someone who has a favourite colour they see in a brochure – or about how *many* windows in a space – just holes punched in a wall -- but the placement and colour of your windows is more important than you might think. Consider it from the point of view of perception, as architect Richard Neutra used to. Former Neutra apprentice John Blanton explains the importance of...more »

U.S. President Barack Obama, surrounded by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (L) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff USMC General Joseph Dunford, Jr., (R) delivers a statement from the Roosevelt Room on Afghanistan at the White House in Washington U.S. July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron *Nancy A Youseff, Daily Beast*: *Defense Officials Blast New Afghan War Plan: ‘Not the Number of Troops to Win’* “There is no desire to end the war in Afghanistan. There is a desire to… make it a problem for the next administration,” one defense official tells The Daily Beast. Preside...more »

Credit: Katie Park/NPR *Tom Bowman, NPR*: *Afghanistan: A Tragic Return To A War With No End* The Afghan army commander said the treacherous road to Marjah, in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, was now safe. His forces had driven out the Taliban a few days earlier, he added. "The road is open, so no problem," said Lt. Gen. Moeen Faqir. "Of course I hope you go there and find the reality and reflect it." Photojournalist David Gilkey and I traveled to Afghanistan many times. In our trip to eastern Afghanistan last year, we found an Afghan army willing to fight, but it was ...more »

"The absolute nature of truth is so distasteful to some, who embrace the subjective nature of perception. For some objectivity actually ceases to exist as a possibility; and with that all truth is banned from the human field of experience. The first problem with truth is that there is always going to be someone to argue against the truth. And the real truth about truth is, even those who love the truth have a hard time applying the truth or accepting every truth about their own lives. Truth, ultimate truth, whatever it may be, is tough meat. It is unending and ever becoming, it’s a ...more »

*"Ubuntu" * "I am what I am because of who we all are." - A definition offered by Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee. "Archbishop Desmond Tutu offered a definition in a 1999 book: “A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.” Tutu further explained Ubuntu in 2008: “One of the sayings in our count...more »

*“Putin: US/NATO are Irreversibly Pulling The World Toward Nuclear War”* by NewsRoom "Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to journalists in St. Petersburg Russia, said the US and NATO are irreversibly pulling the world to nuclear war, and not-so-subtly hinting it will start when US missiles can reach a certain range inside Russia. This terrifying public revelation was made on June 17, yet the mass media in the US and the west have allowed it to go completely unreported; concealing the hideous danger the US and NATO are causing all of us. Speaking about the US anti-missile sy...more »

Do we face zero financial hour this month, The house of cards is under incredible pressure. Has anyone noticed we have negative interst rates. Nothing to see there except disbelif. The reality distorition field will need robust energy to keep on keeping on. If it breaks , no when it breaks, those with solar panels will have the cheapest energy. Electric cars will be all Lambos.

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I've been 'around' for a few years now, pursuing the shifting goal of a sharable home-made surfers resource site focused on ease of use and variety of mostly adult ( whoa : I didn't say prurient ) content.